Increased JNK1 activity contributes to the upregulation of ApoD in the apocrine secretory gland cells from axillary osmidrosis

Epidemiological analysis of axillary apocrine bromhidrosis in China: a survey from Chinese higher education students

Background

There are few epidemiological data on axillary apocrine bromhidrosis (AAB) in the Chinese population, making it impossible to accurately estimate its prevalence or impact on individuals.

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of AAB in China, and to survey and compare the psychological status of individuals with and without AAB.

Methods

Students in several universities in China were surveyed online for AAB, and the prevalence of AAB was calculated. The Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) was used to evaluate the psychological status.

Results

The prevalence of AAB in the surveyed students was 7.5% (194/2571). The projected number of Chinese higher education students with AAB was about 3 million. The onset age of AAB was mainly between 11 and 20 years old (79.90%, 155/194). 68.04% (132/194) of individuals with AAB had a positive family history, and 60.30% (117/194) had wet earwax. Individuals with AAB often felt depression, anxiety, loneliness and social alienation, and scored significantly higher on the nine primary psychological symptom dimensions than individuals without AAB.

Conclusion

AAB affects a small proportion but large numbers of Chinese population. China and the West or East-Asia and the West have different perception, recognition and treatment preferences for AAB.

The Lipocalin Apolipoprotein D Functional Portrait: A Systematic Review

Apolipoprotein D is a chordate gene early originated in the Lipocalin protein family. Among other features, regulation of its expression in a wide variety of disease conditions in humans, as apparently unrelated as neurodegeneration or breast cancer, have called for attention on this gene. Also, its presence in different tissues, from blood to brain, and different subcellular locations, from HDL lipoparticles to the interior of lysosomes or the surface of extracellular vesicles, poses an interesting challenge in deciphering its physiological function: Is ApoD a moonlighting protein, serving different roles in different cellular compartments, tissues, or organisms? Or does it have a unique biochemical mechanism of action that accounts for such apparently diverse roles in different physiological situations? To answer these questions, we have performed a systematic review of all primary publications where ApoD properties have been investigated in chordates. We conclude that ApoD ligand binding in the Lipocalin pocket, combined with an antioxidant activity performed at the rim of the pocket are properties sufficient to explain ApoD association with different lipid-based structures, where its physiological function is better described as lipid-management than by long-range lipid-transport. Controlling the redox state of these lipid structures in particular subcellular locations or extracellular structures, ApoD is able to modulate an enormous array of apparently diverse processes in the organism, both in health and disease. The new picture emerging from these data should help to put the physiological role of ApoD in new contexts and to inspire well-focused future research.

Association of BMI and lipid profiles with axillary osmidrosis: a retrospective case-control study

BACKGROUND

Axillary osmidrosis (AO) is a common disease. There are no safely effective therapies for AO.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of our study was to establish whether increased BMI and lipid profiles affects the prevalence of AO.

METHODS

Our research was a retrospective case-control study. According to our criteria, 203 patients with AO were included in our study and 94 subjects with no bromhidrosis were matched as the control group. Age, ethnicity, living area, level of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TGs), and body mass index (BMI) were obtained from the clinical data. Logistic regression analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to investigate the association of BMI and lipid profiles with AO.

RESULTS

BMI, TC, and TG LDL were significantly higher in patients with AO compared with control subjects (p<.05). A high BMI (≥24 kg/m²) or overweight, compared with a low BMI (<24 kg/m²) or normal, was associated with an increased risk of AO (OR: 6.1; 95% CI: 2.7, 13.4; p<.0001). Adjustment of the lipid profiles' group has a higher risk of disease than unadjusted (OR: 56.4 compared with 6.1, respectively), while adjusting lipid profiles shows a lower risk than unadjusted (OR: 1.3 compared with 6.1, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study revealed that increased BMI is significantly associated with the prevalence of AO.

Androgens and androgen receptor action in skin and hair follicles

Beyond sexual functions, androgens exert their action in skin physiology and pathophysiology. Skin cells are able to synthesize most active androgens from gonadal or adrenal precursors and the enzymes involved in skin steroidogenesis are implicated both in normal or pathological processes. Even when the role of androgens and androgen receptor (AR) in skin pathologies has been studied for decades, their molecular mechanisms in skin disorders remain largely unknown. Here, we analyze recent studies of androgens and AR roles in several skin-related disorders, focusing in the current understanding of their molecular mechanisms in androgenetic alopecia (AGA). We review the molecular pathophysiology of type 2 5α-reductase, AR coactivators, the paracrine factors deregulated in dermal papillae (such as TGF-β, IGF 1, WNTs and DKK-1) and the crosstalk between AR and Wnt signaling in order to shed some light on new promising treatments.

Association between the ABCC11 gene polymorphism and the expression of apolipoprotein D by the apocrine glands in axillary osmidrosis

It has been suggested that the adenosine triphosphate‑binding cassette sub‑family C member 11 (ABCC11) gene polymorphism and apolipoprotein D (ApoD), an odor precursor carrier, may be important in the formation of axillary odor. To date, few studies have examined the potential correlation between these two factors. The present study aimed to investigate the association between a 538 G>A single‑nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the ABCC11 gene and the mRNA expression levels of ApoD in the apocrine gland of patients with osmidrosis. The 538 G>A polymorphism genotypes of 33 patients with a clinical diagnosis of osmidrosis were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a base‑quenched probe method, and they were divided into two groups according to the results. The G allele functions as a dominant gene; therefore, patients with the GG or GA genotype were allocated to Group I (n=28) and patients with the AA genotype to Group II (n=5). The mRNA expression levels of ApoD in the apocrine glands were determined by reverse transcription‑PCR. The results indicated that the mRNA expression levels of ApoD were significantly higher in the apocrine glands of patients in Group I compared with those in Group II (P<0.01). In conclusion, the results indicated that the ABCC11 gene SNP of the 538 G>A allele was associated with a downregulation of the mRNA expression of ApoD in the apocrine glands, which may indicate a role for the ABCC11 gene in the mediation of osmidrosis by enhancing the transition of odor precursors via the ApoD pathway.